August 17, 2010
To Whom It May Concern:
I believe that the changes being considered by the SEC will be harmful to many public investors who are in the middle to low income classes. My reasoning behind this concept is that advisors will overlook the smaller investor because our actions will be limited to an account size larger than $50,000. This is where it starts to make more sense for an investor to create a fiduciary relationship with their advisor. Although I believe the transparency of a fee-based relationship is more beneficial to the investor it will make it so that I would not be willing to work with asset sizes that are smaller. Transactional business still makes sense for the investor that is accumulating or just starting to save outside of their retirement plans. If we as advisors are required to be viewed as fiduciaries in this role we will discontinue advice or relationships with these investors which in my opinion is to their detriment. These standards are concepts that should be followed based on "The Prudent Man Rule" and it is my opinion that most advisors act in their clients' best interests in their recommendations. We have been highly regulated and monitored since the "tech bubble", WCOM and Enron scandles and it is safe to assume that scandals and "rotten apples" still exist in this field, but more regulation will not help. My opinion is that the consumer would be better served in regulation of mortgages which hide their fees, standardized car pricing and educational programs within high schools and college institutions that will provide consumers with the tools to help them make the best decisions for themselves.